Never count out Patrick Ewing at Madison Square Garden.
Despite being picked to finish dead last in the Big East in most preseason polls, and despite finishing with a sub-.500 record in both conference (7-9) and overall (11-12) play, Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas are on to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament after a stunning 72-71 win over top-seeded Villanova.
Ewing’s summation after the game?
“This is my house,” he told FS1 after the final buzzer.
It gets better, though: in his actual postgame presser, Ewing said this:
Perhaps there is some magic coming from that No. 33 in the rafters, or perhaps it was revenge for Ewing’s last collegiate game in the 1985 Championship Game; or, perhaps, just a breakthrough for the Hoyas, who went 6-4 from Jan. 30-March 6 after returning from a three-week hiatus, their losses all to then-ranked Nova, then-ranked Creighton, and twice to UConn.
Regardless, after waxing Marquette in the opening round, the Hoyas went 23-23 from the free throw line against the Wildcats, the last two coming with five seconds left to salt away the win.
Georgetown will now face the winner of Seton Hall vs. St. John’s in the semifinals on Friday, giving Ewing at least one more chance to make a name as head coach against a local foe.
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